Don't be surprised if Guillen manages Venezuela in WBC

Justin Verlander is two years away from free agency but the Tigers would like to sign him to an extension this winter, which would be smart. …

Could Ozzie Guillen be back in uniform in 2013? It won't be a surprise to see him managing or coaching Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic next March. …

Among the biggest things that went right for the Giants in the playoffs was facing the Reds when Joey Votto was playing at about 75 percent of his potential because of his bad knee. One Votto homer at the right time would have sent the Reds to the NLCS but he didn't have any extra-base hits in 22 plate appearances. …

Two names that could surface in the ongoing manager searches: White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing and Rangers' Double-A manager Steve Buechele, who is the heir apparent to Ron Washington. …

When a delegation from the Rangers recently visited Japanese high school ace Shohei Otani, they came bearing gifts — baseballs autographed by both Nolan Ryan and Yu Darvish. Otani, the possessor of a 99-mph fastball and advanced poise, was the first overall pick in the Japanese draft but has said he's coming to the United States. The Nippon Ham Fighters have an exclusive negotiation period with him that ends in March. Don't be surprised to see the Cubs in this process. Theo Epstein signed Junichi Tazawa as a Japanese amateur while with the Red Sox. …

Kirk Champion, the White Sox's minor league pitching coordinator, is a candidate for the pitching coach vacancy in Cleveland. He's highly regarded for his work developing young pitchers and has been blocked from joining the White Sox's staff by Don Cooper and Juan Nieves. Curt Hasler and Rich Dotson, coaches in the Sox system, also could be big league pitching coaches at some point. …

Congrats to Toby Harrah, a former Washington Senator, for making it to his first World Series. He's a minor-leading hitting coordinator for the Tigers but has been serving as an extra big-league coach since August. …

Javier Baez's steal of home in the Arizona Fall League Thursday came when he broke for the plate on a pickoff throw to first, scoring easily. He's looking like a super prospect who could get to the big leagues early, like Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and Starlin Castro. …

Given the success of the Giants, who have baseball's best ballpark, you would think their ownership would find a way to let the A's get their badly needed stadium in San Jose. … The standoff between the Rays and St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster has gotten worse with Foster refusing to allow the team to explore Tampa stadium options while trying to sell owner Stuart Sternberg on a new Pinellas County site closer to Tampa.